Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20 (IANS) Leader of the Opposition (LoP) V.D. Satheesan on Tuesday mounted a sharp attack on the CPI(M), alleging that the controversial communal remarks made by State Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian were part of a “deliberate and pre-planned strategy” executed with the knowledge of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

LoP Satheesan said the sequence of events — from a briefing allegedly given by the Chief Minister’s PR agency to Delhi-based media, followed by the Chief Minister repeating the same line in an interview, and later distancing himself from it — clearly pointed to a coordinated political exercise.

He said the same narrative was later echoed through selected community leaders in Kerala, followed by controversial remarks from senior CPI(M) leader A.K. Balan and, eventually, Saji Cherian.

Describing Cherian’s statement as one of the most shocking ever made by a minister in Kerala’s administrative history, Satheesan said the minister had violated both the Constitution and his oath of office by invoking caste considerations in electoral victories.

He questioned why the Chief Minister had neither corrected the minister nor acknowledged the impropriety of the remarks.

The Opposition leader said the CPI(M) was attempting to normalise communal rhetoric by outsourcing controversial statements to others and later questioning the backlash.

He announced that the UDF would raise strong protests both inside and outside the Assembly.

Rejecting accusations against the UDF, LoP Satheesan said the Front had emerged as a broad political platform cutting across regions and communities, as reflected in the results of the local body elections.

He said the CPI(M)’s attempt to portray the UDF as dependent on minority votes was politically dishonest, noting that the UDF had secured support from all sections of society, including CPI(M) strongholds.

Satheesan accused the CPI(M) of adopting the same divisive tactics traditionally associated with the Sangh Parivar, warning that the ruling party was “playing with fire” in a socially-sensitive state like Kerala.

Referring to criticism of the Muslim League, he recalled that the CPI(M) had once publicly acknowledged the League as a democratic and secular party, particularly during the Babri Masjid demolition period when Kerala remained peaceful.

Satheesan said the CPI(M)’s communal narrative would be decisively rejected by Kerala’s electorate in the 2026 Assembly elections, asserting that secularism would remain non-negotiable for the UDF and for the future of the state.

–IANS

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